Markus Åkesson

Neo figurative art, global audience

Markus Åkesson is a stunning neo-figurative painter whose work spans a great emotional and psychic depth. The cover of Trebuchet issue 5 shows a person hiding or hidden, draped in the same material as the wall behind them. As analogy for the theme Art and Crime, this raises questions about the connection and perhaps about the statement the issue makes. Simply put, in discussing the boundaries between the social and personal and the movements artists and criminals make to define themselves in both contexts, there will always be assumptions, boundaries, and contested narratives about what art and crime actually are. Where the artist wants to be recognised as such, most criminals go to great lengths to distance themselves from that classification. Åkesson’s paintingNow you see me (Opium) displays this duality with an uncanny depth: the person is hidden, the artist is not, and we are captivated.

Åkesson is based in Nybro, Sweden, and represented by Galerie Da-End in Paris. Shown internationally to wide acclaim his work has been acquired by numerous public and private collectors.